Stopbullying Blog

Longer ago than I like to admit, I was a Puerto Rican middle school student. I remember witnessing fellow Hispanic or Latino kids endure name calling and rumor spreading nearly every day over many years. I also recall hearing about other kids being beaten up or getting physically hurt because of bullying. Personally, I experienced bullying through social isolation — hearing after the fact from my peers about how much fun they all had at that awesome birthday party, quinceañero (Sweet 15th), movie or ... Continue Reading

This month, across the world, from New York to New Zealand, thousands of schools, communities, organizations, and individuals will come together to release new resources, campaigns, and efforts aimed at raising awareness for bullying prevention. Nearly a decade old, Bullying Prevention Awareness month was initiated by PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center in October 2006. Since it began, the event has grown to an entire month of education and awareness activities, and is being ... Continue Reading

By: Pamela Orpinas and Caroline McNicholas (Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia) and Lusine Nahapetyan (Kinesiology and Health Studies, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana) with Alana Vivolo-Kantor (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Bullying can take many forms: hitting or pushing (physical bullying), teasing or calling others bad names (verbal bullying). And it also involves relational forms, such as manipulating peer relationships by spreading nasty rumors, threatening to terminate friendships or excluding someone from a social group. Students who are bullied in any of these ways may suffer from depression and anxiety, and have academic problems.

In the past two decades, relational aggression has received an abundance of media attention. Books, movies and websites have portrayed girls as being cruel to one another, thus creating and reinforcing the stereotype of “mean ... Continue Reading

The earlier we start, the better the outcomes. Brain scientists, educators, economists and public health experts agree that the foundation for healthy relationships begins at birth. The earlier children can adapt and develop critical social-emotional skills – like attentiveness, persistence and impulse control – the earlier they can engage in healthy social interactions with their peers.

Given the tremendous amount of social and cognitive development that occurs from birth through age 5, it is no wonder there is a growing body of ... Continue Reading

As a pediatric emergency medicine physician for more than 20 years, seeing sick and injured kids in and out of your emergency department can be difficult, but a part of the job. Knowing you can help them, and being able to make them feel better is why we do what we do. Sadly, many of the children I was seeing with preventable injuries from fighting or assaults were a result of bullying or retaliatory behaviors. I needed to know ... Continue Reading